Finally

The palace was in disarray, the chimeras were free and wreaking havoc on everything they saw and encountered. All because of the actions of a single princess. They also couldn’t spare men to search for her immediately, as they were needed to eliminate the chimeras that were on the palace and going to the city.

Vivienne was with her father, mother and grandmother at the altar by the Luminous Tree. The Great Mother was furious, but she was quiet as she looked up at the tree.

“What happens now, Mother?” Lucilla asked.

The Great Mother turned to face Lucilla with a displeased expression. “How were you beaten by a lone girl?”

“... That lone girl has two classes,” Dominic said. “That should be impossible. Her power was great. Tell me, mother, how did she achieve that?”

The Great Mother looked frustrated. “I said she was special, but not that special. I do not know how she managed to possess two classes. It should not be possible.”

Vivienne had no idea that Avenelle could do something so amazing. All the more reason she found her little sister so admirable. But she kept that to herself.

“This is not good, it should be tonight.” The Great Mother looked up again. “The divine is displeased. We need to find her.”

“Once the matter of the chimeras is settled, we’ll send teams immediately.”

“Fine. Now leave.”

The three of them left, and the giant doors closed up behind them. Vivienne resisted the urge to sigh.

“Mother, Father, what are you going to do?”

“We’ll coordinate with our soldiers first concerning the escaped chimeras,” answered Vivienne’s father. “You and the boys should rest. Sleep it over.”

How do I even sleep it over?

She just lost her dear little sister. That was a hard thing to process.

Vivienne separated from her parents, and as she walked through the hallway, she saw her two younger brothers standing by the wall.

“You two are still here?”

“Why not?” Alaric casually said.

Vivienne sighed. “So you two last saw Avenelle… Was she okay?”

“She was not hurt,” Saviel answered.

“I see, that’s good.”

Vivienne continued on walking.

“Where are you going? To sleep?” Alaric asked.

“To Avenelle’s room.”

“Why?”

“I just want to see it.”

“Then we’re coming with you.”

Vivienne glanced back at them. “Do whatever you want.”

The siblings made their way to Avenelle’s room. When they arrived, as Vivienne opened the door, she couldn’t help but feel sad.

“She took all her dolls,” Vivienne said as they all stepped inside. The room was empty. All the dolls, puppets were gone. It was like Avenelle took every piece of herself out of the palace.

She looked around, and she saw a small doll on the desk. She approached the desk and realized that the doll was in a white dress. It had golden hair and golden eyes.

“Avenelle…” Vivienne slowly picked up the doll, and she discovered a sheet of paper beneath it. A message. Vivienne picked up the paper and read what was written.

“Take care of mini-Vivienne, my dear big sister.”

Reading that, Vivienne couldn’t resist shedding a tear. She quickly rubbed her eyes.

“What is it?” Saviel asked.

“It’s for me,” Vivienne said. “She fulfilled my request.”

“The doll? No fair, she made you one,” Alaric said. “Let me take a look.”

Vivienne moved the doll away as Alaric tried to grab it. “No way, it’s for me.”

“Aw, come on.”

Vivienne chuckled.

I’m going to miss you, my dear little sister. Wherever you are, I pray that you’re doing alright.

***

I let the current carry me far, at least, it felt far. I swam to the side of the river and crawled to the riverbank. I panted as I lay on the ground. I turned around and stared at the night sky.

“I’m… I’m out…” The realization gradually crept in. “I’m out!”

I succeeded! I survived!

“Hehe… Hahahaha!”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud in happiness. I conjured both Ripper and Ballerina, and they helped me stand up.

“We did it! Yeah! We’re alive!”

I jumped in complete joy. It was a hard-fought battle, but now I was relieved. I let out a sigh as a smile radiated across my face.

I looked around. As expected, I was in a forest.

“Now then, I have to get dried up.”

I summoned one of my plain puppets, and this one had another set of clothes. Yeah, I used the plain puppets to store some of my clothes. They were safe from getting wet, and I could save them on my puppets and bring them out whenever I could. Wonderful!

“We should still have hours before they seriously search for me. But that’s plenty of time to get away from here.”

I should ride on Ripper’s shoulder. It should keep me from becoming tired, and I could cover wider distances in a short amount of time.

I looked at the moon and smirked.

“I won and survived.”

I’m pretty good, aren’t I?

The time at the palace was short-lived, but the time I spent was nice. Well, some of them at least.

I must admit, I’m going to miss my family.

I hoped they were going to be alright.

Now then, I wonder what I’ll see and encounter from now on.

Just thinking about the possibilities made me quite excited.